904 Got Played

She fully meant what she said as though it was something ordinary.

"Pfft… Hahaha!" Alex laughed out loud.

"Something funny? No, it is different. What are you laughing at, Mister?" She closed her eyes again and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Nothing. Just like you said, I didn't mean to say that. I just wanted to test you." Alex smirked.

"Tested me? For what? Even though I can sense that your strength is only 1-Star Martial Saint, I feel you are stronger. The way you speak and the way you move… Everything is brimming with confidence as if killing Goryuu is anything but hard."

"I want to make a deal with you."

"A deal?" She looked down for a few seconds before raising her head again with a serious expression. "Before that, I want to know whether it will affect either my future and my family."

"I don't really know about your family, but it will surely affect your future. Whether it's good or bad, it will depend on your cooperation." Alex smirked.

"My cooperation, huh…" She still hesitated and asked, "Despite knowing that you have saved my purity, you want to trade something depending on my cooperation… This is the first time I have encountered someone like you."

"I mean you no harm. The previous threat was only to test your composure and heart. I acknowledged that if I made a trade with you, you wouldn't be someone who would blurt the secret out."

"You are so easy to please…"

"Nope. I simply know that even if you give away the secret, I will have enough backup plans to get away from the situation. As for you, trust me, it's better to not know it."

"…" She thought for a moment before sighing. "I understand. Although I can't accept it right now, I can negotiate this deal with you."

"Good. I have a few demands. First, I heard you want to join Unsurpassed Blade Sect, right?"

"Yes. Are you a disciple there? Or are you someone who wants to join the sect as well? Looking at your cultivation, it's the latter, correct?"

"Yep, you are right. I want to join the sect too, but I don't know how."

Aria paused and took a deep breath before explaining the enrollment process. "There are two ways of joining the sect. The first will be the enrollment process that will be held a month from now, and the second way is to have a connection with someone who is going to enter or already enters the sect.

"Considering your sneaky way to make a deal with me, I guess your identity is not something that can be easily known, so you want me to guarantee your identity…" She analyzed the situation and explained it.

"You got it right. I want to use you as my cover."

"It's branded like that, but I won't say I am coming from Cypress Family. Instead, I am following the woman called Aria. That's all there to it."

"I can understand that, but my family won't escape either if you do something bad. Unless…"

"Yeah. I won't do anything much in the sect. I simply want to train there." Alex nodded.

"Train, huh. If that were the case, it won't be a big problem to do that. And even if you want to do something, you need a long time to increase your cultivation. By that time, there might be a new agreement between us."

"I like the way your brain works. Seriously." Alex was impressed by her. It was easy to talk because he could understand him without a long explanation.

"Before that, I want to confirm another thing."

"Ask away."

"Will Unsurpassed Blade Sect get destroyed in the future?"

"Nope."

"I understand. Before accepting this, you don't mind if I ask about what kind of benefit I can get, right?"

"Sure. Well, I am a simple man. You want strength, I will give you strength. How is that sound?"

"Strength? Although I acknowledge you are strong, it doesn't mean you are qualified to teach me, right?" She suddenly released her Sword Intent, showing she had attained Sword Saint with only 8-Star Martial Monarch.

Alex already knew that she was a Sword Saint and had calculated that she would show it to him. Hence, he also showed her his intent, but in a very weak way, so she didn't realize it was a Divine Intent.

Alex's intent instantly restrained her Sword Intent as though it was an oppressor.

Although she was in a weakened state, she realized that the intent Alex showed was at a different level than her. And the fact that he used only a bit of his energy to show their difference was enough to convince her.

"I understand. But are you sure you want to make a trade with a blind girl like me?"

"Isn't that good enough? You won't see my appearance too, so you can't describe anything other than my voice and a few other things."

"It's very convenient for you, huh." She nodded. "I understand. Since I don't see a future where my family or the sect will be destroyed, I agree to your terms."

"Good." Alex nodded and placed his finger on her forehead, channeling his Pure Fire to burn all the medicine's efficacy.

Having back her ability to move, she slowly rose from the ground and looked at Alex with a complicated expression. "What did you do just now? Never mind, it's not my place to ask. Still, thank you."

"You're welcome." Alex paused for a few seconds before letting out a hollow laugh. "I thought you were going to use that sword to attack me, but it seems I was mistaken."

"I have agreed to this trade, so there is no point in my slaying you. Besides, I know that you have yet to lie during the negotiation, but it doesn't mean you have said everything. Either way, I have decided to trust you in this trade." She shook her head.

"That's great. You are currently a perfect candidate for this, so I just hope I don't need to kill you and search for another one." Alex shrugged while adding inwardly, 'You are the first candidate though, so you are the current perfect candidate.'

"Thank you for the praise. Still, I need to explain a few things for you first."

"Sure."

"First of all, do you know the reason why I hunt an Earth Shaking Worm?"

"No."

"There is a recommendation letter that the sect sent to my family. They allow us to send one talented person to become an Inner Disciple of the sect. Do you know the worth of an Inner Disciple? And what kind of existence is allowed to become one?"

"No."

"Only Martial Saints are allowed to become an Inner Disciple, and your talent is to be tested, so the sect doesn't waste your resources on you. After all, there were some Martial Saints that couldn't become an Inner Disciple because their talent was too low."

"That's why they only send recommendations for those who are talented. My family got it, but it was only for one person, so there was a little competition like this. My task is to kill an Earth Shaking Worm within the time limit. If I am able to do so, I will get the recommendation."

"Is that also the reason why you got betrayed?"

"Yeah. My younger brother wants it as well and knows that I will win, so he plans to eliminate me. Unfortunately, it seems the situation is not that simple. I will explain it later because you will get mixed into this problem if you follow me to the sect."

"Trouble, huh. If I can avoid it, it's best, but I will face it if I can't. Of course, the credit is going to you."

"The brighter the light, the more people will be blinded by it. By having me shine in the spotlight, you can roam around without a problem. However, just like that Goryuu, one might approach me, you know." The way she talked looked like she was confident in her charm even though she was blind.

However, Alex shared that opinion. Even though her eyelids were closed all the time, it didn't mean that she was ugly. In fact, Alex found her beautiful along with that body, so he was a bit worried about this. "I see."

"Well, I don't have any intention of dressing myself beautifully using those fancy clothes. I will probably wear a dark coat like this. If that can't solve the problem, I can wrap my chest tightly so my body doesn't look endowing. As for my face… Should I wear a mask?"

Alex never expected her to be this understanding, but he felt grateful for it. "Thank you. The mask is not necessary for now because you won't be in the spotlight for a while. If you get famous, you can start using a mask. We can even use a person as a scapegoat if they turn into radicals and spread rumors about it."

"Ah! We can kill one of the pursuers and spread the rumors of my face getting ruined because of that."

"Yes. On one hand, I will give you the spotlight for your power. On the other hand, you will face that kind of rumor." Alex nodded with a serious expression.

"I don't mind. I can lie to my family about it as well, if the promised strength is given to me. Besides, the more I get famous, the closer I get to my goal." She nodded. "In other words, this is a win-win situation for both of us."

"I agree."

"Maybe you will be one of my pursuers in the future…" She smiled, trying to tease Alex.

"I already have wives."

"Ah, sorry. I was joking."

"Never mind." Alex shook his head. "Anyway, let's continue the topic. You said there are several things that I need to know about your situation, right?"

"Yes. However, I would like to say something before proceeding any further… Mister, I have noticed that you are not someone from here, aren't you? No, I should say you are someone from outside this world. Am I right? I can see it when you are this clueless about this world."

"!!!" Alex widened his eyes as he finally realized why Aria actually asked him if he knew this and that instead of explaining everything from the start. It was to test his knowledge about this.

"It seems I am right."

Alex then released his killing intent, and she could feel that it was a genuine one. "So, what do you want to say?"

"Nothing. Since I know you are from the outside, I would need to teach you about many common senses in this world and general knowledge about each sect, so you won't be suspected. Don't get me wrong. I want to do this for myself. If the sect deems you suspicious, I will also get the punishment. I don't want to die with you, so I will teach you everything you need to know until our agreement has become invalid. If you want to treat this as something special, we can treat this as a payment for saving my purity."

Alex fell silent and couldn't help but praise her. "To think I have been outplayed, this is the first. As expected of another world, I am impressed."

Alex even felt that they might be able to come up with a better strategy if they thought it together with Anya. "Once this is over, how about you leave this world and come to join my world?"

"Ahaha… Please stop with the jests. But as a cultivator, I am grateful for those words. Maybe if the future path is aligned and that offer remains the same, I might consider it." She smiled. "By the way, let's go back to the topic, shall we?"

"Alright."